We knew Trump wanted to gut the EPA — a leaked plan shows how it would be done. What happens if the EPA is stripped of its power to fight climate change? For all the malevolence of Donald Trump’s executive order to undermine years of efforts to reduce carbon pollution, it’s arguably minor compared to the climate horror that would be unleashed if Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency were to be overturned. Fox News destroyed EPA chief Scott Pruitt over climate change. Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have been a disaster — Scott Pruitt’s have been even worse. America is surging ahead of the climate goals Trump’s EPA pick is suing to kill. Brad Plumer on what the optimists get wrong about Trump’s climate policies.

Frans Van Lunteren (VU Amsterdam): Clocks to Computers: A Machine-Based “Big Picture” of the History of Modern Science. What was our universe like before the Big Bang? The first chapter from Can the Laws of Physics Be Unified? by Paul Langacker. Wrestling with the mysteries of physics is good for your soul: David Marchese interviews Carlo Rovelli, author of Reality is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity. Sara Lippincott reviewsThe Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself by Sean Carroll (and more). “The reality beneath is much grander and more mysterious than we ever imagined”: Sean Illing interviews Lawrence Krauss, author of The Greatest Story Ever Told — So Far: Why Are We Here?

Empathy is dead in American politics: If you show empathy for everybody in your audience, does each person only hear that you care about someone else? Trumpist governance in practice so far is turning out to be just Republican governance with (much) worse management, but does the appalling character of the man on top matter? What Trumpism has brought is a new sense of empowerment to the ugliest aspects of American politics. A lot of Trump voters only heard one thing: Build the wall. Top Democrats are wrong: Trump supporters were more motivated by racism than economic issues. Sarah Kliff ran a focus group with Trump voters — half said they support single-payer. Alexandra Petri on every story she has read about Trump supporters in the past week.